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ARENA funds APA’s renewable methane pilot
AUSTRALIA
THE Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded AUD1.1mn ($712,000) in funding for a renewable methane pilot project that is being developed by APA and Southern Green Gas.
The project aims to demonstrate the tech- nical and commercial benefits of an integrated hydrogen electrolysis and renewable methane production system. It will generate cost and technical data to be used to assess the feasibility of larger, commercial-scale, renewable methane production.
The plant, which will be built near Roma in Queensland, aims to produce 74 gigajoules (1,928 cubic metres) per year of renewable meth- ane. The methane will be pumped into APA’s pipeline network.
The incorporates a multi-step process to convert hydrogen (H2) into methane using solar-generated electricity, water and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere on an industrial scale. Water is captured from the air and fed into an electrolyser, which splits it into H2 and oxygen (O2). The O2 is released and the H2 is then combined with CO2 in a methanation
reactor.
APA CEO and managing director Rob
Wheals said the project was the first step in determining whether methane can be created using solar-generated electricity, water and CO2 from the atmosphere on an industrial scale.
“ARENA’s support means we can work to understand the costs and benefits of generating renewable methane for use in the existing East Coast Gas Grid,” Wheals said. “This is a great example of government support for innovation in the Australian energy industry in Australia.”
He added: “With this project we’re aiming to determine whether this carbon neutral process might be part of a broader green energy solution for the future, and if our pipelines can be used to transport pure renewable energy domestically or for export.”
Australian Minister for Energy and Emis- sions Reduction Angus Taylor said: “It is great to see industry working on new methods to blend hydrogen into existing gas infrastructure by cre- ating renewable methane. This type of innova- tive work is exactly what we need to see to grow our domestic hydrogen industry.”™
Japan pushes forward with hydrogen stations
JAPAN
AIR Liquide Japan and Japan H2 Mobility (JHyM) have jointly opened a new hydrogen station in Kasugai Katsugawa, Aichi Prefecture.
Located near National Route 19 and the Kat- sugawa entrance/exit to the Nagoya Daini Kanjo Expressway, the station aligns with initiatives in the Chubu region to create a hydrogen society using hydrogen as energy in daily lives and for industrial purposes.
The opening follows Air Liquid’s unveiling of a similar station at Kita-Nagoya Yamanokoshi in Aichi Prefecture at the end of April.
The station at Kasugai Katsugawa is now the fifth to be opened jointly by Air Liquide Japan and JHyM, and the fourth to be located in Aichi Prefecture. The partners plan to open another two by the end of 2020.
It is also part of Japanese government plans to have 200,000 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and 320 stations by 2025.
JHyM said in April that it wanted to open at least 24 more hydrogen stations in Japan in the current fiscal year.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) aims to install 160 hydrogen stations in the fiscal year to March 2021. In April, Japan had 127 hydrogen stations across the country.
Aichi Prefecture, which is a centre of the country’s automotive industry, has one the larg- est totals of hydrogen vehicles (1,100) and sta- tions (25).
JHyM was formed as a joint venture in Febru- ary 2018, and unites 24 Japanese industrial and financial companies, including 14 infrastructure firms.
The news comes as an International Energy Authority (IEA) report this week concluded that sales of electric cars (EVs) are on track to rise to a record 2.3mn worldwide in 2020, driven by
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